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In Switzerland, wastewater treatment has traditionally focused on domestic wastewater - in particular, removal of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. Only more recently has attention also been focused on problematic residues of medicines, pesticides and other chemicals. A new Eawag study, commissioned by the federal authorities, now shows that there is also potential for improvement in the case of emissions from chemical and pharmaceutical plants - both at wastewater treatment plants and within the industrial facilities.

The cost of removing large quantities of CO2 from the air will fall in the medium term, but not as much as previously hoped. This is the conclusion reached by researchers on the basis of new calculations. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions should therefore continue at pace, says the research team. Switzerland plans to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by no later than 2050.

Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to scientists in a paper appearing in Nature Geoscience. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world's major mountain ranges by members of the Vanishing Glaciers project. Microbial life will flourish in mountain streams because of ongoing glacier shrinkage.

Do museums, theaters and cultural institutions have a good record in terms of social and environmental sustainability - Researchers at the University of Lausanne have conducted an international survey of over 200 major institutions.

Artificial intelligence and automated laboratory infrastructure are massively accelerating the development of new chemical catalysts. With these tools, researchers at ETH Zurich are developing catalysts for efficiently and cost-effectively synthesising the energy source methanol from CO2. Catalysts are chemistry's hard-working little helpers.

Forests are under pressure and rapidly changing. In order to be able to react to these changes, forest monitoring is of crucial importance. The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL launched an initiative (SwissAIM) to improve forest monitoring. A new study sheds light on why the initiative is needed.

Tire wear of motor vehicles is responsible for a large proportion of microplastics in the environment. Researchers from Empa and the company wst21 have summarized the results of various studies in a recently published basic report in response to postulate Po 19.3559 and presented approaches for reduction.

Climate changes usually happens over long periods of time, but during the last glacial period, extreme fluctuations in temperature occurred within just a few years. Researchers at the University of Basel have now been able to prove the phenomenon also occurred during the penultimate glacial period. In recent geological history, the so-called Quaternary period, there have been repeated ice ages and warm periods.

Madagascar is home to over 11,000 plant species, 80 percent of which are found nowhere else on Earth. A recent study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and ETH Zurich has put forward a new hypothesis for the underlying cause of Madagascar's rich plant biodiversity, which has been regarded as an unsolved mystery of natural history.

It abseils from a height and swings around obstacles: robot Avocado will one day manoeuvre through the canopy of the rainforest and collect data for researchers about this hard-to-reach habitat. It's called Avocado and does actually look a bit like one: currently being developed by researcher on, the innovative robot has a robust housing similar in shape to the green fruit.

As a journalist, do you have general questions about PSI? Are you looking for an expert on your topic?  Get in touch with our In the flying laboratory Every year, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), with the support of PSI, carries out measuring flights to determine the radiological situation in Switzerland.

Ozone causes visible damage to the foliage of European deciduous trees, as shown by a large-scale study led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL. The researchers found that some plants under certain environmental condition react particularly sensitively to ozone, which is toxic at ground level.

At night or during cold winter days, lake water cools faster near the shore than in the middle of the lake. This creates a current that connects the shallow shore region with the deeper part of the lake. An international team led by researchers were able to show for the first time that this horizontal circulation transports gases such as oxygen and methane.

A global study shows that the world's groundwater resources are dwindling: levels are falling sharply worldwide, and the decline has accelerated in the 21st century. Nevertheless, there is still reason for hope. At the beginning of November, The New York Times ran the headline, "America is using up its groundwater like there's no tomorrow." The journalists from the renowned media outlet had published an investigation into the state of groundwater reserves in the United States.

A new study has produced the first cost estimate of the impact that urban heat islands have on human health. The study looked at 85 European cities over the course of three full years, meaning it also took into account the protection that heat islands offer in winter - an aspect that has been little studied until now.

It may look chaotic, but deadwood in the forest does have a function. It has a decisive influence on biodiversity. Researcher Elena Haeler has shown in a study that not only the quantity but also the distribution of deadwood in the habitat plays an important role . Until now, research into deadwood has mainly focused on the amount of wood present.

An AI program can train neural networks, using just a handful of images, to rapidly characterize in satellite and drone data new objects like ocean debris, deforestation zones, urban areas and more. Images taken by drones and satellites give scientists a wealth of information. These snapshots provide crucial insight into the changes taking place on the Earth's surface, such as in animal populations, vegetation, debris floating on the ocean surface and glacier coverage.

Genetic diversity plays a critical role in enabling species to adapt to climate change. An international study, jointly conducted with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), indicates that ongoing endeavors to monitor genetic diversity in Europe are inadequate and incomplete.

In 2019, the tailings dam at a Brazilian iron ore mine failed. The mudslide caused a catastrophe for people and the environment. A team of researchers at ETH Zurich has now uncovered the physical mechanism that may have triggered the accident. The disaster near the small town of Brumadinho in southeastern Brazil occurred shortly after midday: on 25 January 2019, at a nearby iron ore mine, the tailings dam - a storage area for the sludgy, fine-grained residues from ore processing, or "tailings" - collapsed.

Researchers at ETH Zurich are developing a new method to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It involves molecules that become acidic when exposed to light. Their new process requires much less energy than conventional technologies. If we want to slow down global warming, we need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.